Say Goodbye to Terrell Owens and Roy Williams
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A post by "KG Da Juiceman" To see more posts click here |
A lot of analysts went straight to the old chemistry issue as the reason for the release. However, some also added Owens’ age made it a bit easier for Jones to make the move. I hate this notion. At no time last season did Owens show signs of aging. His performance remained pretty consistent, and I believe he actually dropped less balls then seasons past. Physically, Owens is still a top 5 receiver. €˜Nuff said.
Why Owens Didn’t Cause the Crash
Did Owens’ malcontent lead to the slide the Cowboys suffered last year? Not a chance. The unhappiness and bickering was a result of the slide, not the cause. There were several real culprits. Injury tore apart the Cowboys’ backfield. First, Felix Jones went down after scoring in his first three games in the league. Then Marion Barber got banged up during a crucial stretch of the season. Hard to win after losing both parts of your two-piece and a biscuit combo, especially when your biscuit isn’t experienced — Tashard Choice.
Secondly, let’s face it€¦Tony Romo played terribly. Early in the season he was catching a lot of flack for holding onto the ball too long. No one noticed that the team was winning while he was running around like a lunatic. All of a sudden, Romo tries to be a pocket passer — getting the ball out on time and not scrambling. Numbers go down, amount of hits he takes and turnovers go up. Dance with the girl who brought ya Romo; and I’m not talking about Jessica Simpson.
Third, the Cowboys racked up almost 1,000 yards of penalties. This has to be an effect of Wade Phillips’ easy going coaching mentality. No discipline.
Finally, Jeff Garrett put the Cowboy’s offense into a box at the end of the year. Play calling was conservative to a point where it seemed they were just waiving the white flag. Can’t blame him completely though. He didn’t want Romo to blow anymore games with turnovers.
Owens made a fuss when the Cowboys were losing. I don’t expect anything less from anyone who considers themselves a competitor. In actuality, he handled himself way better than seasons past and for the most part remained supportive of his teammates in statements to the media. He cannot be blamed.
What’s Next for Dem €˜Boys
Today, the Cowboys made another major announcement that they released safety Roy Williams. Williams played in four consecutive Pro Bowls between 2003 and 2007 but missed most of the 2008 campaign with a broken forearm. His release will save the Cowboys a cool $2 million in cap room. It seems to me that Jones knew he was going to be releasing Williams when they announced Owens’ release. It was part of the justification for taking the cap hit.
Defensively, the Cowboys are still as stout as last season. Look for them to try to make a move on a strong safety or a second solid corner to sure up poor performance in that area (Anthony Henry sucks). So long as Terrence Newman, who has to be considered a lock down corner, stays healthy for the ENTIRE season they will be one of the top 5 defenses next season.
Offensively, they are still one of the most talented teams in the league. I expect Jones to make a serious bid for disgruntled Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin AND to grab a receiver during mid or late rounds in the draft.
udothedishes…
Juice
Let me be the first to disagree with you when I say that TO wasn’t the sole problem but he was a large portion of it. 1st of all, he complains regardless of winning or losing. He complained after the loss to the Skins when he was thrown to around 19 times. He doesn’t care about winning, he is 36, which is old, he cares about HoF numbers.
http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=NFL&type=Receiving&rank=232
He was 4th in the league in drops, 1st in the NFC. He did not make Tony Romo better by creating an environment where Romo had to force balls into him or ignore him all together b/c of his terrible route running.
Jones is cleaning house in time for his new stadium. This means investors who sit in luxury boxes want a team with a good image. TO was obviously apart of the problem if they took a $9m cap hit just to release him.
The last thing “Jesus” Campbell needs in his last year to prove himself as a legitmate NFL quarterback and leader is TO mouthing off to the media the first time the Skins lose two in a row and he’s not thrown to ten times. It’s no accident that as soon as TO started whining constantly last season, as is typical from Owens about halfway through every disappointing season, that Romo’s play started to tail off. It’s got to be difficult for a young quarterback to always make the right decisions when on the back of his mind he knows he has to keep his most talented player happy.
I cant believe I just kind of defended Tony Romo.
In the words of Mike Singletary, “CAN’T DO IT. CAN’T COACH HIM”
On another note I heard the Danny may be trying to sign Lebron when he is a free agent next offseason.
You’re kidding with the stats right? Look at the list. Every number 1 receiver is up there in drops because anytime the ball hits their hands and they don’t catch it they add a tally to this UNOFFICIAL stat. Your boy Moss is only two drops below on list. Calvin Johnson who has excellent hands is just one drop down.
He is 35 and it’s not worth taking the cap hit and losing that much talent. Also, like all elite athletes, he believes there is a correlation between his performance and his team winning. I can’t blame him for that one because it is true. When he got his numbers, they won. Plain and simple.
1. There are only thirteen #1 Wr’s on that list. #1 Wr’s drop minimal balls obviously b/c there are 32 teams.
2. Only 2 of the 8 pro bowler WRs made that list.
3. Just b/c drops aren’t an official stat doesn’t mean they’re not a real stat and that they don’t impact a team negatively.
4. If the correlation is so big btw him getting the ball and the team winning how do u explain, 20 offensive plays going to Owens in the first meeting against the Skins for 7 catches, and 2 endarounds worth 11 yds with one dropped TD? In a loss — also if the Cowboys win when TO gets the ball then why would he be cut?
35-year-old pass dropping receivers with bad attitudes get cut especially when they divide a locker room. I hate to say it but without him you all will probably make the playoffs this year. You won’t win a playoff game but you’ll make it.
1. Almost everyone on that is a well respected receiver/tight end. Drops are part of being a receiver.
2. Don’t have time to check that. But I’ll wager that more than a third of the list have been pro bowlers.
3. It’s not an official stat because its subjective. Meaning it’s simply up to whoever is watching the game. Last time I checked, Stats inc is not the official stat keeper of the NFL.
4. Thrown to and catchable are two different things.
5. How come no one slandered Portis when he was bitching about getting carries. It was because he was right. Stars need the ball. That’s why they’re stars.
We will make the playoffs because Romo will play better, we’ll be healthier, and our defense will continue it’s momentum from last year. Not because Owens isn’t there.
Romo must suck if 20 offensive plays went to Owens with 18 passes thrown to him and 12 weren’t catchable.
And actually everyone slandered Portis, have you heard of the the Doc Walker Show and the John Thompson show? Once his carries went up again it was a fact that his body was letting him down.
I agree with Juice on most of the TO stuff. TO is still one of the most productive players in the NFL. Look at what he has done for Quarterbacks wherever he has been. Jeff Garcia’s numbers haven’t been close to the same since TO left. Donovan McNabb has his best season with TO. Romo has had the guy every season he has been a starter and TO has caught almost half of Romo’s TD passes.
Dropped passes are a very misleading statistic. For one, a lot of the guys on the list are guys who are more dangerous for what they do after the catch not necessarily known for how clutch there hands are. Many of the guys on that list are the focal points of the passing game for their respective teams. Look at how many of them have young quarterbacks or guys who are considered gun slingers. They don’t have a stat for how many times the quarterback forced the ball into double coverage. Was that every drop? Ofcourse not. Is it a negative play? Sure, but most of the time something good happens when the ball goes to any of those guys.
I do disagree with Juice on a couple aspects. The cap hit they will take this year hurts but it free’s up a huge amount for next year. Next off season D. Ware will be added to the every growing list of Cowboys with huge contracts. Not to mention next year’s uncapped year. He had to cut salary somewhere. Even he can afford to pay everybody big bucks.
I do think the Cowboys are in big trouble at WR. Roy Williams is not a number 1 WR. He played on two teams where the guy opposite him was being double teamed and he didn’t do anything. Even worse he already has a history of being hurt and missing games. I know they have Witten but unless Felix Jones plays more WR (def a possibility) they have no real big play threat that strikes fear in an opponent on the whole offense. We will find how good Romo really is now that his playmaker is gone.
I don’t give a damn ’bout dem cowboys, T.O. is on the Bills now, and we ’bout to get it in!